The next era of BMW will begin in September with the arrival of the first Neue Klasse electric car: the iX3 SUV.
Confirmed to be revealed at the Munich motor show ahead of sales starting early next year, the SUV - which we've already driven in protoype form - marks major milestones for BMW, as it introduces advanced underpinnings and a design that will be adopted across the rest of the brand.
It will go up against the forthcoming electric Mercedes-Benz GLC – a car that will also be revealed at Munich. The pair will fight for a foothold in Europe’s most hotly contested new car segment in a bid to increase EV sales in the face of tightening emissions regulations.
The new iX3 will be followed soon after by an electric BMW 3 Series saloon, although a date for this unveiling has yet to be confirmed.
Previewed last year by the bold Neue Klasse Vision X concept, the second-generation iX3 will be sold alongside the current, fourth-generation petrol X3 and sit on the all-new Neue Klasse architecture.
As a result, the new iX3 will have slimmer batteries, more efficient motors and clever technology that BMW claims will be a “quantum leap forward” from today’s electric offerings.
The size of its nickel-manganese-cobalt pack – which features new cylindrical cells – has yet to be disclosed, but BMW said the iX3 will offer a range of 497 miles – 210 miles more than the first-generation iX3.
That would make the new iX3 Britain’s longest-range EV, going even farther than the new Mercedes-Benz CLA EQ saloon, which currently tops the charts at 484 miles.
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